We had to wait for more than five hours to board the ship."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Thousands of Idul Fitri or Lebaran homebound travelers this year have been seen thronging the ferry ports of Merak in Banten and Bakauheni in Lampung.
On Wednesday morning, or two days before D-Day, Merak and Bakauheni ports were still crowded with incoming homebound Lebaran holiday travelers.
Muslim, a Roll On-Roll Off (Ro-Ro) ship passenger, stated that thousands of holiday travelers were seen stranded at Merak port in Banten province on Wednesday morning.
"It is very crowded. We had to wait for more than five hours to board the ship," Muslim stated after arriving from Merak at Bakauheni port in Lampung.
He remarked that until 4:40 a.m. local time, on Wednesday, Merak port was still crowded with thousands of prospective passengers from Java who were keen to spend Lebaran holiday with their relatives in Sumatra.
In the meantime, Rahman, another passenger, noted that he had to stand in the queue at Merak port from 8:30 a.m. local time, on Tuesday, until 3 p.m. local time before he got on board the ship.
"We did not expect that we would have to wait that long. It is really tiring, but these are the ups and downs that we have to face during the Lebaran holiday mass exodus," Rahman remarked.
Rahman further revealed that when he left Merak port, thousands of other prospective passengers were still waiting in queues to be transported to Bakauheni port in Lampung.
But sadly, they were compelled to wait for hours to be transported by intercity buses to Rajabasa bus terminal in Bandarlampung when they arrived at Bakauheni port.
For over two hours since 5:30 a.m. local time, several passengers, hoping to board intercity buses to reach the Rajabasa bus terminal, continued to increase.
At about 8 a.m. local time, a bus turned up, at the sight of which the people swarmed to it, pushing and shoving to gain entry, though only a few could be transported to Rajabasa.
Scores of police personnel were deployed to assist the people to get on board the other incoming buses and to anticipate and handle criminal incidents in the crowd.
Heru Purwanto, a spokesman for the Inland Waterway Transportation Service PT ASDP for Bakauheni, stated that the Lebaran holiday mass exodus through Bakauheni and Merak ferry ports would peak on Wednesday and Thursday.
He noted that due to the difficulties faced in getting public transportation to their respective hometowns, a multitude of holiday travelers had to spend the night at Bakauheni port before proceeding on their journey to the main terminal of Rajabasa.
Moreover, on Wednesday, the largest Rajabasa bus terminal in the southern part of Sumatra Island was also crowded with Lebaran holiday travelers heading to cities in Sumatra.
Following the increasing number of prospective passengers at the terminal, the waiting period for the buses bound for Bakauheni ferry port was shorter as compared to that noted during regular days.
As the buses from Rajabasa entered the Bakauheni port terminal, the passengers swarmed into them and in less than ten minutes, they departed for their original destinations.
In the meantime, Rajabasa bus terminal spokesman Antoni Makki acknowledged that most of the regular buses operating on the Rajabasa-Bakauheni route are in poor condition.
"Actually, hundreds of buses should be carrying passengers from Rajabasa to Bakauheni and vice versa during Lebaran, this year, but most of them are in poor condition and cannot be operated to serve the passengers," Antoni revealed.
However, if the need arises, the local transport management will deploy other buses and vehicles to serve the Lebaran holiday passengers, he noted.
"To anticipate the increasing number of passengers at Rajabasa bus terminal, we are ready to operate axillary buses and other vehicles if necessary," he noted.
The flow of Lebaran holiday travelers in the opposite direction, or from Bakauheni to Merak, or vice versa on Wednesday and Thursday is forecast to be higher, with long queues of vehicles and passengers waiting to get on board the ferry ships.
However, this situation should not be a cause of concern, as PT ASDP is operating 48 Ro-Ro ships to serve the holidaymakers during the Lebaran holiday season this year.
"We have a total of 56 Ro-Ro ships, but we are operating 48 of them during the Lebaran holidays this year," spokesman of the Merak branch of PT ASDP Lentanga revealed recently.
According to Lentanga, the 48 vessels prepared to serve the holidaymakers are being operated from five docks at Merak port in Banten province.
"Besides this, we will also provide three areas with special tents, respectively near the ticket counter, at the dock, and a rest area for the passengers of two-wheeler vehicles," he noted.
Lentanga had forecast the number of prospective ferry passengers crossing from Merak port to Bakauheni port in Lampung, Sumatra Island, during the 2015 Lebaran mass exodus to increase by three to six percent as compared to that recorded in the last year.
According to Lentanga, the number of pedestrian passengers at Merak port last year reached 140 thousand while the number of four-wheeled vehicles reached 13 thousand, and motorcycles, around 19 thousand.
"But, in general, we are now well prepared to handle the flow of passengers at Merak port this year," he noted.
(T.O001/INE/KR-BSR/H-YH)
Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
